Your Horse, My Way: Sculpture Commissions

The horses I sculpt aren't traditional portraits, and that's exactly why people commission them.

A commissioned piece starts with your horse: their build, their expression, the way they carry themselves (I'll want photos, and I'll want stories). Then it becomes something only the two of us could make, perhaps draped in a sculpted blanket carrying a pattern that tells their story. Your barn colours. A pattern pulled from their show name, their personality, or simply what they mean to you.

The result is anatomically true enough that anyone who knows your horse will recognize them instantly, and artful enough to hold its own in any room, whether or not the person looking at it has ever touched a horse.

Every commission is fired ceramic: permanent, archival, made to outlast both of us.

A note on horses we've lost. 🕊️

Some of the most meaningful pieces I make are of horses who are no longer with us. If that's why you're here, know that I treat these commissions with particular care. A memorial in fired clay is a very old human tradition, and I'm honoured every time I'm asked to continue it. The process below is the same; the conversation we start with is a little different.

Sizes and starting prices

Starting prices reflect a piece with a standard finish. The final price depends on size, the complexity of the glaze work, and (if required) the base. I'll give you a firm quote after our first conversation; no surprises after that point.

Sculptures can be mounted on a hand-finished solid wood base (I favour walnut or cherry in a hand-rubbed oil finish, quiet woods that let the sculpture speak, but we can discuss alternatives).

Prices don't include shipping and careful-packing costs. I personally deliver anywhere in the Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky at no charge - it's my favourite part.

How it works

1. We talk. A relaxed conversation by email, phone, or video — about your horse, the size and feel you're after, finish ideas, and budget. Send me every photo you have; the candid ones often tell me more than the posed ones.

2. Design ($150 design fee). I create sketches until we've landed on a design you love - the pose, the blanket concept. The design fee is credited toward your final price, so it costs you nothing extra; it simply reserves your place in my schedule and my full attention.

3. Sculpting begins (50% deposit). With the design approved and deposit received, I start building your piece in clay. You'll get regular progress photos, and this is the stage where adjustments are welcome. In ceramics, changes are only possible while the clay is soft, so I keep you close to the process here. (That said: the more artistic freedom you give me, the better the piece will be. My best commissions came from clients who told me about their horse and then let me run.)

4. The kiln gets its say. Once you've approved the sculpted piece, it dries slowly, is bisque fired, glazed, and fired again. Two things every honest ceramicist will tell you: glaze colours are a collaboration with the kiln. I try to control them closely, but fired ceramic always carries some beautiful variability - and very occasionally, the kiln takes a piece (a crack, a warp). If that ever happens to yours, I rebuild it at no cost to you. Your timeline extends; your price never does.

5. Final approval and delivery (remaining 40% + shipping). You see the finished piece in photos (or in person, locally) before final payment. Then your horse comes home.

Timeline: typically 10–16 weeks from deposit, depending on the piece and kiln scheduling. I take on only 4–6 commissions a year so that each one gets the time it deserves. For Christmas delivery, designs need to be finalized by mid-September.

What if I'm not in love with it?

Then you shouldn't buy it. I mean that. My goal is a piece you'll keep forever, not a transaction. If the finished sculpture isn't right for you, your deposit can be applied to any other available work of mine, now or in the future. In 10 years, no one has taken me up on it, but the promise matters.